


Skin Like Fire

by Aza_Marael



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Cuban Lance (Voltron), Discrimination against phobias, Eventual relationship, F/M, Haptophobic Lance, Korean Keith (Voltron), M/M, Orphan Keith (Voltron), Slow Burn, Weddings, oblivious boys, some language
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-30
Updated: 2017-01-05
Packaged: 2018-09-13 08:26:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 12,117
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9114934
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aza_Marael/pseuds/Aza_Marael
Summary: When the moving van rolled up onto your street, stopping in front of that house that’s been on sale since you moved here, you could feel the dread preparing itself in advance for what you knew was coming.Then your mother called you down to bring over the cookies.This was what haunted Lance Sanchez’s nightmares.Or the one in which Lance and Keith are neighbors and somehow Keith ends up both sort of adopted and invited to a wedding.





	1. In which Keith is invited to a wedding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had this idea sitting on my phone for probably three years, I’ve now seen Voltron: Legendary Defender five times, and it’s really about time.

**Day 10**

**8 July, 2016  
2:14 PM**

_When the moving van rolled up onto your street, stopping in front of that house that’s been on sale since you_ moved here _, you could feel the dread preparing itself in advance for what you knew was coming._

_Then your mother called you down to bring over the cookies._

This was what haunted Lance Sanchez’s nightmares. Hunk could laugh all he wanted, but that experience had been traumatizing! It had led to the past ten months of Lance’s torture and _continued trauma_.

Lance was lamenting his existence. And expressing this lament to Hunk. Because Hunk was totally at fault.

 

**Funky Hunky (Hunk Garrett)**

**(2:14)** I can’t believe you’re finding enjoyment in my suffering.

 **(2:15)** YOU’RE A TRAITOR TO THIS FRIENDSHIP

**(2:17) Even after I made you those butterscotch cookies?**

**(2:17) And let you eat *all of them*?**

**(2:18)** You know you love me

**(2:19) Sometimes I wonder.**

**(2:20)** CRUEL HUNK.

 **(2:20)** CRUEL.

“Lance!” The head Sanchez (which was most definitely not Lance’s father) called up, interrupting their very important conversation. “Go get Keith for dinner!”

Lance groaned. He buried his face into his pillow, contemplated suffocating himself, and proceeded to roll until he hit the floor.

The most notable about Maria Sanchez was her voice. It was loud, it was clear, and it had the strange ability to cut through even the thickest of walls. For a woman with seven children, it really shouldn’t be surprising.

Lance dragged himself with a _thump_ down the rickety stairs, nearly tripping on the last step.

“Lance, hurry!” Maria huffed, giving him a look from the kitchen, her arm furiously stirring whatever was in the pot. (She never let anyone in the kitchen; every meal was supposed to be a surprise.)

Her son took his time, pulling open the screen door.

The backyard was a maze that he had to pick through, skirting around the old swing, jumping over Alexis’ mud pit and narrowly avoiding landing in the flowerbed. Their little picket fence was low enough that Lance’s long legs swung over it with ease and from there he was home-free.

Unlike their disaster, Keith’s place was spotless; a little plot of grass with not much more than a half-dead flowerbed and a potted cactus that Lance had affectionately named Maximus Alexander Nicholas Andy Reagan Fightmaster von de la Prickles the Third. Or Prickles, for short. Lance gave a little hello to Prickles as he opened the back door.

“HEY HOTSHOT!” Lance’s voice echoed throughout the empty house. When no one answered immediately, Lance fully entered the sparse living room with a huff. “HEY—”

“I heard you the first time, idiot.” Keith came down the stairs, black mullet dripping. He must’ve just gotten out of the shower. Lance huffed again, crossing his arms to show Keith just how upset he was.

“Dinner time.” Keith rolled his eyes, but didn’t need to answer as the two made their way back out the back door.

This was a usual routine for them. When Keith had moved next door a little over a year ago, it hadn’t taken very long for Lance’s mom to find out that he lived alone. She had been appalled at his cooking skills (even Lance was appalled, and he wasn’t the best cook either) and from then on Keith had essentially been forced into having dinner with the Sanchez family every night. When spring cleaning came, they had to clean _two houses_. Yet, they weren’t allowed to spread out into Keith’s place, even though he had an extra bedroom.

Maria smiled brightly as the two arrived, her hands holding a large plate of… chicken. Lance was 99% sure that was chicken. He loved his mom’s food, but sometimes he wasn’t completely sure what he was eating.

“Good! Go wash up boys.” She ushered them to the kitchen sink, despite her hands being full, and the two fought over the soap briefly.

The moment the last of the food was set on the dining table, chaos erupted in the Sanchez household. Lance and Keith leapt for seats just as small feet pounded down the stairs.

Alexis waddled into the room, oblivious to his squabbling siblings behind him. Maria lifted him up into his own special chair, pushing the five-year-old’s curly black hair out of his face. Her attempt didn’t work very well.

Rafael and Heidi snipped at each other, though really that wasn’t anything new. Rafael, being the older one (two years Lance’s junior), pushed his sister aside before claiming the chair at the end of the table. He grinned smugly at Heidi, who stuck her tongue out at him before claiming the seat between Keith and Lance. The moment she sat she straightened her posture, combing her long brown hair out of her face with careful movements. Rafael rolled his eyes.

The last to enter the room was Daniel, who sat by his wife with Alexis, with Emilie at his heels as always. She hid her face behind wide-framed glasses and short black hair, but sat across from Lance with a tiny smile. Keith stared at her from the corner of his eye; Emilie looked more like she was his sister rather than Lance’s, but he’d never felt comfortable enough to ask.

As Daniel said grace, the house went silent—with the exception of Raggedy-Anne’s squawking—for a brief moment before once more chaos broke loose. With their required thirty seconds of near silence now complete, the table erupted in conversation. Heidi immediately struck up a loud conversation with Emilie; Lance was telling Rafael something that caused the boy to bend over in laughter; Maria and Daniel were keeping a quiet conversation to themselves while simultaneously talking to Alexis, who was already making a mess of his food.

Keith kept quiet, as he usually did at the dinner table, preferring to watch the family interact rather than actually participate.

He didn’t get much chance to get his food—it was a battle for the last piece of anything around here—when the doorbell rang.

Maria ushered her children back into their seats as she got up.

The kids went silent as they craned their necks, trying to see who was at the door. Maria’s back was just visible, and they watched her hands fly up.

“Welcome home, welcome home!” Maria returned, her face lit up and her laugh wrinkles all the more prominent, and her arms full of a small child with chubby fingers and thick brown hair.

Dinner was forgotten, and everyone but Keith and Alexis leaped out of their seats to greet the couple that followed Maria inside.

A young woman, her dark hair in ringlets and her eyes the same dark blue color as Lance’s, pulled the younger children into a large hug, swinging them around as they giggled. The man behind her, with his brown hair and droopy green eyes, stood behind her with an awkward smile. At least, until Maria and Daniel greeted him with a hug and a squeeze of the shoulders, respectively.

“Why don’t you visit more often, mija?” Maria huffed, finally looking at her eldest daughter. “If I’d known you were coming, I would have made more food.”

“There’s no need mamá, we already ate.” The newcomer smiled—she had Maria’s smile, like all the children did—though her expression faltered as she peered around her family, seeing Keith still sitting at the table. Keith stood, feeling out of place as she maneuvered her way to him. “Hello,” her smile got wider, “I’m Lora Rodriguez. Are you Lance’s friend?”

Lance answered for him. “No, that’s Keith. He’s our neighbor.”

“Mom makes him come over for dinner.” Rafael piped in, everyone slowly gravitating back to the dining room.

Lora smiled at him, not missing a beat. “Well it’s very nice to meet you, Keith.” She turned back to the man that had come in with her. He now held the small child in his arms. “That’s my daughter Katerine and my husband Julio.” She turned back with a mischievous grin, winking. “But we all just call him Steve.”

Keith gave them a small sort-of smile that was definitely awkward. “It’s nice to meet you too.”

The Sanchez family continued to make a fuss over the new arrivals as they all sat back down for dinner. Keith stayed quiet, content to fade back into the background as they returned to their meal. Two chairs had been pulled up for Lora and Steve, and they squeezed themselves into the already crowded table, two plates already filling up for them.

Keith liked Lance’s family, even if Lance himself was an annoyance more often than not. Not only were they neighbors, but they were in the same high school, with the same set of friends, and in many of the same classes. Lance was funny on his good days, but there was only so much Keith could handle. Particularly when he came barging into Keith’s house at two in the morning because he wanted to know Keith’s score on the latest test. (How he had gotten Keith’s house key was still a mystery Keith was trying to figure out.)

Of course, it was summer now, which frankly made Lance much more bearable. It seemed with summer Lance’s stupid obsession over this “rivalry” dissipated for a while, and he became someone more enjoyable to hang out with.

Keith watched Maria tease her husband for something or another, wrinkles from many years of laughter creasing her face. Dimples made little pockmarks in her rosy cheeks, and Keith had the passing thought that he could watch her laugh for the rest of his life.

There weren’t any leftovers for dinner—there usually weren’t, unless Lance and the kids had snacked beforehand—and Keith figured now it was time to make his exit. Everyone was enraptured in some conversation and Keith could see clearly that he had no reason to be here anymore.

Red was probably waiting for her dinner—the tabby made a point of shredding Keith’s clothes if he forgot.

He had just about made his escape, (the back door was even open) when Maria clapped her hands, face lighting up in realization. She whirled on Keith, who shut the back door as discreetly as he could. He didn’t think it worked very well, but Maria ignored that in favor of letting everyone know her brilliant idea.

“Of course! Keith, do you have a suit?”

Keith blinked once, twice. _A suit?_

“Um, no?”

Maria clicked her tongue disapprovingly, physically pulling him back into the house. “That’s no good! What will you wear for the wedding?”

Keith stared up at her, wide-eyed in utter confusion. Somewhere behind him, Lance snickered. “Wedding?”

The older woman gave him a strange look. “Luis is getting married on the eighteenth.”

“Luis is my older brother.” Lance explained, finally deciding to stop laughing and to start being helpful. “Mamá, Keith’s never met Luis.”

Maria paused for a brief moment in surprise before laughing, bringing a hand to her face in slight embarrassment. “Oh, perdóname _,_ Keith. You are here so often I think of you as another son.” Keith couldn’t help the way his stomach flipped at her words, or the flush that crept up his neck at her laugh. When was the last time someone had called him their son? He couldn’t remember.

“An honorary Sanchez already,” Rafael quipped, though it seemed to be directed more towards his mother than to Keith.

Lance rolled his eyes, shoving his brother in the shoulder. Rafael laughed. “My mom takes in everyone. Hunk’s been her honorary son since he brought cookies the first time he came over.”

Lance’s words did little to weigh down the lightness in his chest, so Keith ignored him.

“Keith’s coming to the wedding, right?” Heidi piped up. Her mother beamed.

“Of course! Now go get ready for bed. Lance, you and Keith have dish duty tonight.” Lance’s amused face dropped.

“What?!” Keith wasn’t quite as vocal as Lance, but he could agree there. Apparently, once Maria called him her son he was eligible for chores. Starting off with dish duty.

“Have fun~!” Rafael snickered as the rest of the kids escaped upstairs before they could get dragged into anything themselves.

Maria took Lora and her family upstairs to sort them into bedrooms, and Daniel disappeared into the living room with Alexis in his arms.

Lance sighed in defeat. “How come I have to get stuck with dish duty…” He grumbled, though already he was starting to gather the plates on the table.

Keith helped him, though he was still trying to figure out how he ended up doing chores. Of course, Maria was feeding him so he couldn’t complain. Anything was better than cup noodles and old pizza after a while.

Lance and Keith made a silent agreement—Lance washes, Keith dries. The funny thing was as much as he complained, the brunette got things he didn’t like done quickly, and he did it well. When there was a calculus test, Lance refused to study, cramming the night before. Yet, he somehow managed to scrape by with B’s and even a few A’s in the class.

It seemed the same thing applied to chores; while he grumbled the whole way through it, Lance cleaned dishes efficiently. Keith didn’t even have to hand any back for missed spots. Of course, this could also just be due to an accumulation of experience over the years.

“So… a wedding.” Keith mentally congratulated himself for his eloquent choice of a conversation starter.

“Yup.” Lance replied.

 _That was successful._ Keith gave up trying to fix the somewhat awkward atmosphere. If Lance didn’t want to be friends with him, so be it.

They continued the routine in silence. Wash, pass, dry, repeat. When Lance spoke up again, Keith jumped. Not that he would admit to spacing out while washing dishes.

“My brother’s getting married to his high school sweetheart. She grew up in a small town in Kansas before she moved here, and they’re kind of…”  Lance waved a hand covered in suds around in a vague attempt to get his point across. The gesture was unclear, but Keith understood what he meant. “So neither side knew about their relationship until a couple of years ago. The wedding’s a big deal for my parents.”

“I… see.” Keith didn’t know what to say to that. He’d never been to a wedding before. “I’ve never been to a wedding.”

“Oh.”

Lance handed Keith the last dish to dry just as Maria returned downstairs, Rafael, Heidi, and Emilie at her heels. Lance gave his siblings a dirty glare, at which Rafael grinned, Emelie ducked her head, and Heidi stuck her tongue out.

“Lance, you need to invite Hunk over.” Maria said in that way of hers that somehow sounded like both a plea and a demand.

Lance rolled his eyes as he pulled his phone out.

 

**Funky Hunky (Hunk Garrett)**

**(7:18)** Hunk

 **(7:18)** Hunk there’s a wedding

**(7:19) Will there be food?**

**(7:19)** DUDE it’s a WEDDING

**(7:20) I just had to make sure**

**(7:20) because, you know, the last wedding I went to**

**(7:20)** Hunk I don’t need to know

 **(7:21)** Anyways it’s Luis’s wedding, on the 18th

 

**Pidgeotto (Pidge Holt)**

**(7:22) Wait, a wedding?**

**(7:22) How come we’re not invited?**

**(7:23)** wtf what

 

**Team Dad (Shiro)**

**(7:23) Lance it’s not nice to invite only Hunk**

**(7:23) Especially when the rest of us are right here**

**(7:24)** What

 **(7:25)** How was I supposed to know that?

 

**Team Alluring Mom (Allura Altea)**

**(7:26) Don’t listen to Shiro, Lance. You couldn’t have known.**

**(7:27) Even though he’s right.**

**(7:28)** WHY ARE YOU ALL GANGING UP ON ME

 

Lance grumbled furiously to himself, Keith watching with a raised eyebrow as he tapped furiously on his phone.

He stopped briefly, looking up at his mother, who was staring back with an expectant gaze. “Hunk wants to know if he can bring some friends to the wedding.”

Maria raised both eyebrows skeptically, knowing her son, but didn’t comment. “How many?”

Lance’s face scrunched up in concentration, counting off silently on his fingers. “Uh, three—no, maybe four.”

Maria smiled—no, _beamed_ —and Keith felt his chest warm. “Of course. Just be sure to introduce them, yes?”

Lance nodded, once again distracted.

 

** Wedding Crashers **

**Members: Lance Sanchez, McMullet (Keith Gyeong), Funky Hunky (Hunk Garrett), Pidgeotto (Pidge Holt), Team Dad (Shiro), Team Alluring Mom (Allura Altea)**

**(7:31) Lance Sanchez:** You’re all invited

 **(7:31) Lance Sanchez:** Happy?

**(7:32) Team Dad (Shiro): Very. :)**

Keith glanced at his phone as it lit up. _Why Wedding Crashers…?_

A picture of Red in the mess of his phone background reminded him of dinner. And it was _way_ past Red’s dinnertime. Keith winced. No doubt the feline had already raided his closet by now.

“Um, thank you for the food, Mrs. Sanchez, but I’m afraid I have to get going.” Keith gave an awkward smile, wiping his hands on his pants and grabbing his phone as he slowly inched back towards the back door.

Maria frowned. “Will you not stay the night? We have to buy your suit tomorrow.”

“Er, well, I need to feed my cat, and I live right next door anyways, so—”

“You have a cat?!” Heidi interrupted, grinning. “Can we feed it?” She turned to her mom with a grin. “Mamá, can we feed Keith’s cat?”

Maria smiled. “I don’t see why not. Where do you keep the cat food?” Keith blinked.

“…The pantry.” Heidi needed no further invitation and grabbed Emelie by the hand, the two of them racing out the back door before their mom could change her mind.

“Now there’s no problem, yes?”

Keith floundered. “Well, I, uh, need something to sleep in, and my toothbrush, so…”

Maria’s smile became even brighter, and Keith knew he had lost. “There’s no problem then! Lance has extra PJs you can borrow, and we have an extra toothbrush. I’ll go ahead and put it in the bathroom for you!” Keith resigned to his fate. “Lance, pull out the cot. Rafael, get the extra blankets. Keith will stay in your room.”

Maria left the room, likely looking for her husband and her youngest child, and Keith gave Lance a bewildered, if not exasperated, look.

Lance laughed. “Don’t argue with my mom. She always gets what she wants, one way or another.”

Keith sighed.

“C’mon, we’ll show you our room.” Rafael and Lance pulled him upstairs and down the hall. They pointed out the master bedroom on the left, the bathroom at one end of the hall, and the girls’ room on the right. Alexis had his own room next to the girls, and Rafael and Lance were in the room at the other end of the hall.

The room had two very distinct sides.

There were two twin beds, one with a Star Wars comforter that Keith could guess was likely Lance’s. His walls were covered in posters of the universe and a variety of terrible movies—everything from Con Air to Sharknado—and littered throughout the posters were photographs and sticky notes, taped on the corners and little holes in the poster-wallpaper. Rafael’s side was remarkably cleaner, with a small section of photographs (unlike Lance’s, these were in frames) and a corkboard covered in notes and witty little pictures printed from the Internet.

“Guess which one’s Lance.” Rafael muttered drily, no doubt noticing Keith examining the room. Keith snorted, at which Lance gave them an exaggeratedly hurt look, pushing himself and Keith into the room.

“Go get the extra blankets, Rafa.” Lance snipped, and the younger of the two rolled his eyes as he left the room.

Keith watched, somewhat awkwardly, as Lance pulled out a mattress from under his bed, lugging it through a mess of clothes to the middle of the room. Rafael returned just a minute or two later, and the two of them had the bed made up quickly.

Lance straightened up with a grin. “There!” Rafael flopped onto his blue comforters, letting out a long sigh. Their peace was short-lived, as Lora came in with her daughter squirming in her arms.

“Can you boys watch Kate for me? I have to make a run to the store with mom.” She didn’t wait for an answer, dumping the one-year-old in Keith’s arms before racing back out of the room. Keith watched her go, arms full of the child that tugged at his hair and gurgled in delight.

Lance laughed, cooing at Kate, who squealed in delight. She reached for Lance’s face, which was remarkably close to hers, but he straightened up before she could reach him, her hand grasping at nothing. Rafael rolled off his bed, pulling himself to his feet and taking the baby from Keith’s arms. He sat back on the mattress that was Keith’s makeshift bed, setting the little girl in his lap.

Rafael bounced her on his lap, causing Kate to laugh, and Keith took a hesitant seat on the mattress by Rafael, Lance plopping down on his brother’s other side. As soon as he did an old beagle lumbered in, making its way directly to Lance and plopping itself right atop his feet.

“Hello, Blue,” Lance grinned, belying the dry tone of his voice. He wiggled his feet underneath the dog, though the beast refused to move. Not that Lance seemed to mind.

“Blue?” Keith asked, looking at Lance incredulously. “And you make fun of me for calling my cat Red?”

Lance _pouted_. Bottom lip out, petulant gaze, and all. “I named her when I was four! Blue is a perfectly acceptable name for a four-year-old, not a teenager.” He retorted, and Keith rolled his eyes.

Rafael interrupted with a strangled noise escaping from his throat, and the other two gave him a strange look. Rafael looked between the two of them with a bloodless face.

“So, uh… Who wants to change the diaper?”

 

* * *

 

 

**Day 10**

**8 July, 2016  
9:49 PM**

Keith fell back against the mattress, utterly exhausted. He was wearing one of Lance’s old T-shirts, with a faded logo belonging to some sports team or another, and a pair of red sweats—which was probably about the only red thing Lance owned. It all smelled like Lance, and Keith found himself struggling to keep his mind from going in weird directions.

Because seriously, how in the universe did he end up _at Lance’s house, in Lance’s clothes, with Lance?_ Blue lumbered over to Keith, heaving himself up onto the mattress. The dog lay right across Keith’s stomach, and the teen grunted at the unexpected weight. He didn’t move the old beagle, though, despite finding a sudden shortness of breath. Because, really, it was kind of pathetic. Blue was so old, Keith was half-expecting him to drop dead at any moment, and he looked every bit his age.

Keith lifted his head to stare at the furbag sprawled across his torso. Blue looked back at him with sad-looking droopy eyes. He really was pathetic. Keith let his head fall back against the sheets.

Lance came in not long after, pausing in the doorway. Keith lifted his head again to see the owner of the aforementioned pathetic dog silently laughing, bent over with one arm wrapped around his stomach and the other trying to mask the silent laughter.

“ _Lance._ ” Keith grunted. “Get your mutt off me.”

Lance continued to laugh for several moments longer before actually obliging.

His face was rosy and his eyes were bright when he came over to look down at Keith, a lopsided grin on his face. Keith noted absently that, when one really stopped to look at Lance’s smile, there was a small dimple in the right corner of his mouth. Keith felt the inexplicable urge to reach out and touch it.

He didn’t quite work up the courage to do so as Lance ducked his head, reaching down to lift up Blue, who had lifted his head to watch. Lance lifted up Blue with only a little difficulty, carrying him over to his own bed. The beagle was complete dead weight, not even squirming in the process.

“Your dog is pathetic.” Keith felt the need to make sure Lance was aware of this. Lance looked back at him, a hand to his chest and a look of betrayal on his face. Keith rolled his eyes.

“Don’t say that! She can hear you, you know!”

“Your dog’s a boy.” Another fact Keith was sure Lance needed to know.

Lance huffed, turning away with his nose held high. “Blue is Trans, okay? Don’t hurt her feelings with your heteronormativity.” Keith rolled his eyes, a smile crawling up his face as he turned back to the ceiling. Leave it to Lance to believe his dog was Trans.

Keith stared up at the ceiling, blinking once, twice. “Lance,” he said, still blinking to be sure he wasn’t seeing things. “Are those _glow in the dark stars?_ ”

He could hear Lance huff. “There are moons and comets up there too.”

Keith sat up, incredulity coloring both his face and his voice. “Why do you have glow in the dark stars on your ceiling?”

“Rafael used to be scared of the dark. She tried using a nightlight, but it kept me up so I’d take it out. This was her Great Compromise.” Keith snorted, looking at Lance, who had a flush creeping up the back of his neck.

Lance refused to look at him, sitting on the floor before his bed and playing with Blue’s floppy ears. Keith rolled his eyes after another minute of this.

“Lance.” Lance didn’t answer and Keith huffed at him. “ _Lance_.” Keith rolled onto his stomach, twisting his body so his feet hung off one side and his head faced the Cuban teen before him. “Lance, are you sulking?”

Lance twisted around to face him at last. His face was still a little red, but his eyes were still bright and a smile tugged at the corners of his lips. “I am _not_.” He insisted, and Keith gave him a skeptical look, but he didn’t push it.

Keith blinked, struggling to keep from yawning. It really wasn’t that late, but for some reason he was starting to feel drowsy. It might have something to do with the sudden chaotic change in venue, and the panic that cemented the thought that Keith did not want to have children.

Lance was back to lazily petting Blue, one hand on the dog’s stomach and the other propping him up on the floor. There was something—a birthmark or a scar, Keith couldn’t tell—on the underside of Lance’s wrist, and Keith spent several minutes twisting his head around to get a better look at it without physically moving from his admittedly comfortable position. When that failed to produce any results, Keith sighed inwardly. He was comfortable, but his curiosity outvoted his comfort, and he shifted himself as he reached out.

His hand grabbed onto Lance’s wrist, and Keith’s eyes widened as within seconds Lance had leaped up, smacking Keith’s hand away. Keith sat up, a searing comment on the tip of his tongue, only for it to die before passing his lips as he caught sight of Lance’s face.

He was pale, the blood having drained from his face, and his eyes were wide with a terror that Keith had never seen before. Fearless, confident Lance stared at him with a stricken look that created a heavy stone in the pit of Keith’s stomach and tightened his chest with a cold, dark emotion he couldn’t name.

“…Lance?” Keith breathed, his voice barely audible, trying not to look as he felt. Confused, worried… scared. Had he done something wrong? Did Lance really hate him that much? Keith tried not to think of it, but his mind went into overdrive, his heart hammered in his chest, and his hands felt icy. Bright lights and the thundering rain roared in his ears and blinded his eyes. Keith blinked them away, storing them back in the abyss of his memory.

The two of them stared at each other, unmoving, both trying to sort through their muddled thoughts when the door opened. Rafael stood there, two pillows in his hands. He looked between the two of them, his expression starting to creep into realization.

“…I brought some extra pillows.” He said, quietly, as if he was afraid to break the suffocating silence. Lance relaxed when his brother spoke, offering a shaky smile.

“Thanks. I was afraid I’d have to give up mine.” He joked, but his voice was weak, and his heart wasn’t in it. Keith never wanted to hear Lance speak like that again, with a fake cheer that was so obvious it was painful.

“Lance.” Keith spoke again, more assuredly, and Lance flinched at the noise. Keith made fists in the sheets in an attempt to bring warmth back into his fingers.

Lance didn’t look at Keith when he spoke, and it made the coldness in his chest hurt more. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

Rafael looked between the two of them before settling his gaze on his brother. “I think Keith deserves to know.” Lance pressed his lips together, staring at his poster-covered wall. “If you don’t tell him, I will. He deserves to know.” Lance didn’t answer, and his younger brother sighed before turning to Keith. “Lance has… He has a fear of being touched. It’s not just you. He reacts that way when any of us touch him.” Rafael kept a calm expression, but even he had an expression that told Keith that it hurt him just as much.

“It’s called haptophobia.” Lance cut in, his voice strangled with something that Keith understood much more than he’d like to.

Never feeling good enough, like something’s wrong with you but you don’t know how to fix it. It sounded so wrong coming from Lance. Lance was supposed to be annoying and obnoxious and self-confident and loud and popular and everything Keith was not. And Keith didn’t know what to do about it.

He watched Lance climb into his bed, curling on his side with his back facing the rest of the world like a last-ditch defensive maneuver, Blue curling up with him. Lance draped an arm over his dog, and when the lights went off and Rafael drifted off and the glow in the dark stars and moons and comets lit up the room, Keith stared up at the ceiling. He tried to pretend that he couldn’t see Lance’s shoulders shaking, that he couldn’t hear the shaky breathing muffled by dog fur, that he couldn’t feel Lance’s tears falling down his own face.


	2. In Which Keith Shops For Wedding Dresses

**Day 9**

**9 July, 2016  
8:18 AM**

**Funky Hunky (Hunk Garrett)**

**(8:18) Hey Lance**

**(8:18) What’s the color scheme for the wedding?**

**(8:19) I need to know if I should wear the brown suit with a cream yellow shirt or the black one with a yellow tie.**

**(8:20) _IMAGE SENT_**

**(8:21) And if it’s the yellow tie, should it be the mustard yellow one or the cream yellow?**

**(8:21) _IMAGE SENT_**

**(8:22) I was thinking the mustard yellow cause it makes more of a *pop*, you know?**

**(8:25) Lance?**

**(8:25) Are you awake?**

**(8:40)** OH MY GOD

 **(8:40)** HUNK

 **(8:40)** LET ME SLEEP

 **(8:40)** AND THERE IS NO COLOR SCHEME SO STOP WORRYING ABOUT IT

 **(8:46)** But you should wear the black one

 **(8:46)** That brown suit is hideous. Throw it out already.

 

Lance groaned, now awake thanks to Hunk. He loved the man, but seriously, he should know by now to stop texting Lance at ungodly hours of the morning unless he wanted to revoke his best friend status. Not able to fall back asleep, Lance rolled out of bed—earning a lazy growl from Blue for waking her up so early—and landing on his stomach on the floor with an ‘oomph’. He dragged himself to his feet, muttering to himself about the terrors of mornings and the godliness of coffee as he trudged down the steps sleepily.

He wasn’t quite awake, still trying to rub the sleep from his eyes, and his foot missed the last step sending him tumbling painfully down the last few steps. Lance groaned, his back throbbing painfully.

He blinked several times, clearing his vision to see Lora grinning down at him. “You know, you’ll have to remind me to thank Hunk next time I see him. I never get tired of seeing you fall down the stairs every morning.” Lance just glared at his sister and groaned again. Lora laughed, retreating back to the kitchen. “Come over here and help me make some breakfast!”

Lance didn’t really want to get up. If he got up it meant Keith would get up, and then they would have to talk about last night. And Lance didn’t want to talk about last night. He wanted to pretend last night didn’t exist. But he also knew he couldn’t delay it forever. His family knew about it, Hunk knew about it, Pidge and Shiro and even Allura and Coran knew about it. Even if Lance avoided talking about it with Keith for the rest of his life, Keith would find someone else to talk to.

And if Keith was going to have the Conversation no matter what, Lance would rather be the one to have it with him. That way, he could at least control what Keith found out.

To do that, however, Lance had to get up. Again.

For the second time in the last ten minutes Lance dragged himself to his feet, yawning and trudging into the kitchen. The island already had a steaming mug of coffee waiting for him, and Lance inhaled the smell of it with his fourth groan of the morning, though this one was out of pleasure rather than pain. Lora laughed.

“I think we need to start weening you off that stuff. Lord knows you don’t need any more caffeine in your system as it is.” She teased as Lance took a large gulp, sending the scalding liquid down his throat. Now able to open his eyes without having to physically pry them open, Lance gave her a mocking glare.

“You’ll have to pry it from my cold, dead hands.” He retorted in a deadpan, and Lora laughed, loud and long. Lance grinned. He loved his sister’s laugh. It was loud and obnoxious and often punctuated with snorts, but it was infectious in the best way. Most of his siblings—Rafael especially—got tired of his jokes (which even he would admit could get pretty terrible sometimes) after a while. As they grew with age, that “while” tended to get short fast. But Lora had his sense of humor, and no matter how terrible it was, she always laughed. All the lingering tension from last night dissipated from Lance’s mind at the sound.

Lance downed the rest of his coffee, setting the mug in the sick before turning his full attention to the kitchen. “Alright, hand over the pan. I’m not letting you burn the bacon again.”

The two set themselves in an easy rhythm, an ease that developed only with years of mornings cooking together. Lora turned on the little radio that sat on the windowsill. It was already set on their mom’s favorite station, though if they were being honest, none of the kids really minded, despite how much they complained. A familiar song came on not long after, and as Lance started throwing some bacon on the sizzling pan, he and Lora were already singing, body moving in time with the rhythm.

The combination of Spanish singing and the smell of bacon wafting through the house slowly pulled the rest of the family awake, and Heidi and Emelie trudged down the stairs, the two of them yawning in sync as they climbed onto the little stools that complemented the island. Lora didn’t miss a beat, already setting a glass of orange juice down before each of them, grabbing a good portion of Lance’s steadily growing bacon pile and dispersing them evenly on two plates that were set before the girls.

“Pancakes or waffles today?” Lora asked, handing Lance the egg carton without him even needing to ask.

“Pancakes~!” Heidi called out gleefully, and out came the pancake mix.

Keith was the last to wake up, blinking blearily as he plopped onto an island stool next to Emelie. Lora and Lance took one look at him, and bust out laughing. Keith scowled, already attempting to fix the rat’s nest that made up his hair.

“No, no, leave it!” Lance cried out hysterically, waving a hand in some frantic gesture Keith couldn’t understand. “I want to send a picture to Hunk and Pidge.” Keith’s scowl darkened as his fingers tried to comb through the mess.

“Don’t worry, Lance, I’ve got you covered.” Lora waggled her eyebrows, cell phone waving in the air, and the two bumped fists.

Keith sighed in defeat, giving up as he watched the two return to their cooking. Lora was a little taller than Lance, now that he could see them properly side by side, yet her level of maturity didn’t seem to be much higher. Lance manned the stove while Lora set up plates and glasses, a bowl of batter tucked comfortably in one arm.

“Keith, what do you want to drink?” Keith straightened up subconsciously, not really expecting the question.

“Um, just water is fine.” He replied, blinking. Lora rolled her eyes, and instead set a glass of milk before him with unnecessary force.

“You look too fragile. Drink some milk.” Keith decided his best option was to obediently follow her command.

He sipped at the white liquid quietly, watching the two siblings dance around one another in the kitchen. As silence stretched from the sleepy newcomers, Lance and Lora started singing to the radio again. Lance had a surprisingly good voice, and Lora’s light lilt was a good complement to his low baritone. Keith found himself getting lost in the rhythm of the music and their singing, watching Lance do little twists with his hips, feet tapping to the song. Lora danced through the kitchen, moving back and forth around Lance without so much as touching him.

Keith frowned, the events of last night returning to the forefront of his mind. Haptophobia. The fear of human touch, as he recalled.

To Keith, it seemed like the last thing someone like Lance could have, and Keith would have doubted if that was really the case if he hadn’t seen the look on Lance’s face.

For as long as they had known each other, Lance had been boisterous and loud: the kind of person that naturally drew attention. He was confident and competitive and flirted with anything that moved. Yet, when he thought back to every heated argument or joke or _anything_ that he’d done with Lance, the lanky Spaniard had never so much as brushed up against someone.

A lot of things suddenly made sense. Why Lance stayed behind after class, why he avoided the cafeteria and the gym like the plague, even though both places should in all rights be his two favorite spots, if Keith knew anything about him. He wondered if their friends knew. Hunk probably did—the two had known each other for years before they’d met the others. Pidge and Shiro were probably smart enough to figure it out. Of course, they’d all known Lance longer than he had. But Keith was also his neighbor. Hell, Lance had brought him _cookies_ the first time they’d met!

Keith’s musings were interrupted as Lora set down a plate of bacon for him. He looked up at her Lance-like eyes owlishly.

“You like bacon, right?” He nodded dumbly, and she smiled brightly at him. “Good! Bacon is the food of the gods. Do you want any pancakes, Keith?”

Keith nodded again, jaw working uselessly as he realized he should probably say something. “Er, uh, yes. Please. Thank you.” Lora laughed, and Keith couldn’t help but note that they even had similar laughs.

“Sure thing. Several pans of fluffy goodness coming right up!”

She grabbed a spare pan from one of the lower cabinets, shooing at Lance playfully. “Stop getting in my space, Sanchez. I have pancakes to make.”

Lance shot her back a playful—if not competitive—glare, blowing a raspberry at his sister. “You need to stop intruding on _my_ space, Sanchez. I have eggs to make.” He turned to Keith briefly, giving him a look that dared him to give a negative answer. “Keith, you want eggs?” Keith just nodded, already knowing it was a lost cause to say no in this house. Lance flashed him a triumphant grin, and it was the first smile he’d given him since last night. “How do you want them?”

“Err, over easy, I guess.”

“You guess?” Lance said, but already he was grabbing two eggs and cracking them expertly into the pan. Keith thought absently that he hadn’t realized Lance could cook.

Heidi and Emelie giggled as Lora flipped a pancake dramatically in the air before catching it on a plate atop two others, handing it off to Heidi, who immediately poured heaps of syrup on it.

“Hey, sis,” Lance said a little too sweetly, “Why don’t you get some more plates there? I can take care of the pancakes for you.”

Lora flipped her long, tangled hair haughtily, grinning with satisfaction as Lance started sputtering from the strands that caught in his mouth. “And have you burn them again? No thanks, Lance. Now, if you want to hand over those eggs…”

Lance curled over his egg pan defensively. “Don’t you dare touch my babies! Besides, I’m not _that_ bad.”

Lora raised an eyebrow at him, but Heidi was the one who spoke up. “But you _are_. I don’t like your pancakes.” Lance gasped, clutching his chest as if he’d been physically wounded.

“ _What?_ ” He cried, a scandalous look on his face as he turned to his younger sister. “Emelie?” He turned to the youngest of the girls tentatively, but she just shook her head, a small smile lighting her face. “You wound me!” Lance fell back against the island, leaning over it to look at Keith with an overly dramatic wounded expression. “Keith, I want you to make sure they bury me at the beach. Under a palm tree. And make sure it has coconuts. And I don’t want just any headstone; you have to make sure I get a _mausoleum_. And—”

Lance was cut off as Maria and Daniel Sanchez entered the room, Alexis running in after them. Daniel raised an eyebrow at his son, who grinned.

 “Bacon!” The youngest member of the family cried out, his father lifting him up onto the last of the stools.

The conversation devolved into simple ramblings after that, and Keith found himself content to sit back and listen.

 

* * *

 

 

**Day 9**

**9 July, 2016  
11:37 AM**

After a quick search of the house, the missing member of the family who had yet to make his appearance that morning was discovered on a couch in the living room, wearing an old T-shirt and boxers, one leg hanging half off the couch to join the blankets on the floor. He was snoring, loudly, completely oblivious of the rather large furball sitting on his chest.

Lora sighed exasperatedly, her hands full with her daughter, who had just woken up after a fitful night’s rest. Katerine blinked sleepily, not quite awake yet, looking briefly at Keith before her head plopped back onto her mom’s shoulder.

Steve went on snoring.

Keith blinked as the squashed face of a cat gave him an appraising, if not haughty, look from where it sat on Steve’s chest.

“I didn’t know you had a cat.” He pointed out. The cat tilted its head.

Lance glowered at the feline with an unnecessary amount of hate. “ _I_ don’t.” He hissed, and the cat turned from its appraisal of Keith to start a stare-down with Lance.

“That’s Hello Kitty!” Heidi replied instead, practically skipping over to the cat and patting it on the head. “Good morning, Hello Kitty!”

Lora shook her head, though her face gave away the amusement she was feeling. “Her name is Empress, but Heidi and Emelie insist on calling her Hello Kitty, so she’s become Empress Hello Kitty now.”

“She’s a tyrant,” was all Lance was willing to acknowledge. Keith raised a brow. He felt like he did that a lot around Lance. The aforementioned cause of the brow raising looked back at him. “What? That thing hurts Blue for its own amusement!”

“Well you have to admit, it’s kind of funny.” Daniel chuckled as he joined the group in the family room. Lance wasted no time whirling on him.

“ _DAD!”_

There was a knock on the doorframe and Keith turned around to see a male Lora.

He blinked, momentarily confused, before realizing that this must be the Luis he’d heard so much about. He was the spitting image of Lora, with shorter, but equally curly dark brown hair and the same expressive eyebrows and slightly tilted smile. The only real noticeable difference (aside from the obvious) was that Luis had their mother’s warm chestnut-colored eyes, rather than the dark blue color that Lora and Lance sported.

Luis waved shyly with calloused fingers. “Am I interrupting something?”

Lora practically screeched, shoving Kate into her father’s arms before leaping at her twin brother with an enthusiasm that Keith had only ever seen Lance pull off.

“LUISOHMYGODCONGRATULATIONSWHERESYOURWIFELETMEMEETHER!!” Lora rambled on in that same loud tone. Luis laughed sheepishly, wisely waiting until his sister finished screaming before speaking. She finally let go of him, stepping back and taking a deep breath to calm down.

Keith was surprised Kate hadn’t started crying from the sudden outburst. He was more surprised Steve hadn’t woken up yet. Even Empress had left her comfortable position to escape to another room.

“It’s nice to see you too, Lora.” Luis scratched the back of his neck almost meekly. He turned back to something behind him, and his small smile became a little brighter. His arm extended only to wrap itself around the waist of a petite blonde that stepped into the room. She waved as Luis introduced her. “Well, uh, everyone, meet my fiancé Wendy Flores.”

“Soon to be Wendy Sanchez. It’s nice to meet you all.” She had a hint of a British accent.

Lora grinned, the two women shaking hands. “It’s nice to meet you, Wendy. I’m Luis’ twin sister, Lora.” She turned to introduce each person in turn. “These are our siblings, Lance, Heidi, and Emelie, and our dad, Daniel. That’s our neighbor, Lance’s friend Keith, and the log on the couch over there is my husband.” She gathered the now dozing baby from Daniel, beaming proudly. “And this is my daughter, Kate!”

“Ah, Luis! Welcome home!” Maria Sanchez joined the rest of the family in the living room, holding Alexis in her arms. Despite her youngest already being five, she seemed to have no trouble picking the boy up and carrying him around the house. “And you must be Wendy! It’s nice to meet you. I am Maria, his mother, and this is Alexis.” Alexis waved.

“¡Hola señorita!” Wendy waved back.

“¡Hola Alexis!” Maria’s face seemed to glow even brighter in delight.

“You know Spanish?” Wendy nodded, looking only a little embarrassed.

“I took Spanish in high school and studied abroad in college.” She explained, smiling abashedly.

“Hiciste bien, mijo.” The look Maria gave her eldest son was so warm, glowing with pride, that Keith felt his chest physically ache with a fierceness he had never known.

Luis beamed, looking even prouder, if that was possible, and his arm around Wendy tightened just a little more.

“Where will you two stay though?” Lora, though looking loathe to interrupt the moment, spoke up nonetheless. “I’m sure Luis can stay in his old room with Alexis, but…”

Keith didn’t even register the words coming out of his mouth before he spoke up. “She can, uh, stay at my place. If that’s okay.”

“You do not need to, Keith.” Maria interjected before the couple could say a word. “We do not wish to impose.”

Keith shook his head. This was one thing where he knew where he stood. “Not at all. It’s the least I can do to make up for letting me eat dinner with you.”

They hesitated, but Keith’s reassuring smile seemed to convince them.

“If it’s alright with you…” Maria sighed in defeat, but she was smiling, and Keith couldn’t help the flash of pride he felt.

“Thank you so much!” Wendy smiled at him, the light sprinkle of freckles on her nose disappearing as her grin cause her nose to scrunch up.

Keith led the way out of the house, Daniel carrying most of the luggage.

Lance watched the group go, heading out the backdoor and picking their way over the maze that was the backyard.

“Hey, Luis?”

“Yeah?”

“What’s the color scheme for the wedding?”

 

* * *

 

 

**Day 9**

**9 July, 2016  
2:00 PM**

Lance winced at the sound that shook the house.

“ _¡¿QUÉ?!_ What do you mean you have not gotten your dress yet?!”

Lance tried to stay out of the way as his mother continued to rant in Spanish, storming through the house and angrily gathering her things. Keith had just returned with Maria, Wendy, and Daniel from his place not ten minutes ago, and he stood rooted in place, looking utterly terrified. He felt for him, really. His mother turned into the Queen Xenomorph when she was angry.

Lance shivered, remembering the Ping-Pong Ball Incident. _Never again._

After another pitying look in Keith’s direction, he figured he may as well do something about it and walked over, waving a hand in front of the other boy’s petrified expression. Keith blinked and focused on him. “C’mon, let’s go to the living room.”

Keith followed obediently, probably too scared to protest over anything, and Lance skirted around his older sister (who was being just as loud, but more out of excitement rather than anger), escaping into the living room. His dad and Luis seemed to have had the same idea, as Daniel sat slumped on the couch watching TV while Luis kept Alexis entertained with rather beat-up looking toy cars.

“Where’s Kate?” Lance asked, collapsing onto the couch beside his father.

“Taking a nap,” Luis replied absently, making an engine noise in the back of his throat, causing Alexis to laugh and make his own. Keith, looking lost, perched himself on the edge of one of the three armchairs in the room.

Maria’s screaming was somewhat muffled by the walls and the TV, but Keith still glanced back nervously as her voice momentarily rose in volume.

Lance glanced at Keith, tried to watch TV, squirmed, and glanced at Keith again. Daniel gave him a knowing look, groaning as he hauled himself up. Lance could hear his knees popping.

“Alexis, I do believe its snack time. Luis, could you get him something for me?” Luis looked as if he was going to protest, but seeing the expression staring back at him, simply sighed and stood.

“C’mon, Al. Let’s go.” He held out his hand, which the youngest Sanchez eagerly took.

“Kay!” Daniel watched them go, gave Lance one last meaningful look, and followed them out.

From where Lance sat, he could just see Alexis sitting at the dining room table, waiting eagerly as he rambled on to a half-listening Rafael. So they weren’t too far away. If something happened they were right there. For some reason, that didn’t assure him much.

“So…” Lance started, drawing out the sound in a poor attempt to delay the conversation a little longer. “…About… last night.” Keith looked at him and looked at his bare feet.

“Yeah.”

“There’s not anything… you want to know?” Lance waited for it. The invasive questions and the misunderstandings and the attempts to see how far a touch would go. It never came. He looked up at Keith, who was still staring at his shoes, feeling his body relax just a little as Keith shook his head.

“I… I’m not really sure what there is for me to know. You just… You don’t like being touched, right?”

Lance shrugged, even though he was pretty sure Keith couldn’t see it. “It’s not that I don’t like being… touched. It just—it hurts, I guess.”

“Hurts?”

Lance shook his head. He didn’t want to have this conversation right now. “I’m okay with being close to family and some of my closer friends, like Hunk. And the occasional brush of skin is okay, I guess. It’s the worst when it’s strangers. I feel most comfortable with kids. Like, I can deal with them touching me better. I guess.” Lance shrugged again. “I’m not explaining it well.”

“It’s okay.” Keith replied quietly, and they were quiet until Alexis wandered back in the living room, dragging Luis along behind him.

He walked up to Keith, squinting at the Korean teen, who squirmed under the gaze. Finally, he looked away, turning to Luis. “Does Keith get un nombre de Papá?”

Keith turned to Lance. “A what?”

“A Dad Name,” Luis replied, laughing. “Papá was the one that named Lance, Lora, and I. He thought it would be funny if every child’s name started with L. Mamá didn’t figure it out until he tried to name Rafael.”

Lance practically cackled. “He wanted to call him Lionel.”

“I was going to be Lee-am.” Alexis added, raising his hand when he spoke. Luis ruffled his hair affectionately.

“It’s Liam, Alexis.” He corrected before turning back to Keith. “Heidi was going to be Lucy, and Emelie would’ve been Leah.”

Keith turned to Lance with an expectant look. “What is my Dad Name then?” He asked in a deadpan tone of voice that had Lance grinning. With the awkward conversation over and the arrival of Alexis, the atmosphere between them had become so much more relaxed and Lance hoped it would stay that way.

“Who knows? You’d have to ask my dad.” Lance replied.

“Ask me what?” Daniel’s stature darkened the doorway momentarily before he fully entered the room. He gave Lance a quizzical look, but it was Alexis who enlightened him.

“Papá, what’s Keith’s nombre de Papá?” Daniel gave Lance a bemused look before he turned his gaze at Keith, staring at him in a way that made him squirm.

“Hmm… I think he would have to be Lukas. With a K.” Keith’s brows furrowed.

_Lukas?_

“How so?” He asked, brows furrowing even more when he received three surprised looks. “What?”

“No one has ever asked me that before.” Daniel admitted, and Lance returned Keith’s incredulous gaze with a raspberry. Sometimes Keith forgot how childish he could be. If Lance would ever admit it, sometimes he forgot too.

“How do you decide?” Luis asked, not so subtly trying to derail the topic from Lance’s antics.

“Well, I’ve been reading this book series. The author takes five years to publish each book, and there happens to be a lot of name that start with L so I’ve just been using those.” He shrugged. “I got Luis and Lora from The Witch’s Time, for instance. That’s the second book, for your information. It came out not too long before you were born. The names Lance, Lukas, and Lucy are from The Lover in the Window, the third installment. They’re quite interesting; you should read them.”

“I can’t believe you named me after a book character.” Lance muttered, and his father practically pouted. Keith was starting to see where Lance may have gotten his childishness from.

“I put quite a lot of thought into naming you, Lance. Lance Winterflame was the main character up until the end of book three. He was successful in his quests and even got married and had twins. Or would you rather have been named Buckaroo? She wanted to name you Buckaroo, you know, after she saw Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension.”

Lance actually paled, and Keith _howled_. Lance’s face exploded in red at the sound—the drainage of blood from his face followed by its sudden return gave Lance a bit of a head rush—his dark tan only getting darker as Keith clutched his stomach and bent over, tears leaking out of his eyes as Luis wheezed next to him. Alexis looked at them, confused, while Daniel maintained his very serious expression.

“Wha— _Keith!_ ” Lance whined, hiding his face behind his hands. Keith and Luis continued laughing at his expense, though they were starting to calm down a little at last.

“S-Sorry, Buck.” At Luis’ words, Keith started laughing all over again.

They finally calmed down, both still gasping as Lance cut them off from his life.

“Luis, I’m disowning you. Keith, you’ve revoked your friend status.” He deadpanned, but neither of them seemed sorry.

Daniel cleared his throat expectantly. “I do believe you have something to say, Lance.” Lance grumbled quietly to himself. “Lance?” His father raised an eyebrow expectantly.

Lance huffed, crossing his arms and reluctantly speaking louder. “Thanks for not letting mom name me… _that_.” Lance waved a hand at the other two five-year-olds in the room.

Alexis still looked utterly confused. “Papá, what are you talking about?”

Luis just shook his head and patted his son’s head. “It’s nothing for you to worry about, Alexis.” Alexis frowned, jutting out his bottom lip in protest, but his efforts were ignored.

Maria popped her head into the room then, spotting the group of boys. “Keith! There you are! Come, we have to buy your suit!”

“Mom…” Lance sighed in that exasperated way only children can pull off.

Maria smiled at her son affectionately. “Now there’s no need to get so upset, Buckaroo. We’ll be right back.” Lance gaped as his mother kidnapped Keith and made her escape.

He couldn’t _believe_ …!

Lance could do nothing but watch as Maria pushed Wendy and Keith out of the house before they could protest, Lora following gleefully behind.

 

* * *

 

 

**Day 9**

**9 July, 2016  
2:57 PM**

Keith wasn’t really sure how he ended up at Alluring Bridal with Maria, Lora, and Wendy. He especially wasn’t sure why he ended up at Alluring Bridal with Shiro, Allura, and Coran.

He stared up at the little shop somewhat reluctantly. The displays were all bridal gowns, and Keith was sure he didn’t belong here.

Lora pushed him inside when he refused to follow, and Keith’s feet nearly tripped over the doorway on the way in.

A familiar face looked up when he entered, beaming with all his usual glee. “Ah, Keith! Welcome! I didn’t expect to see you here!” Coran waved from his position at the front desk, mustache looking as bushy as ever.

Keith blinked. “Coran?”

The older man laughed. “Didn’t expect to see me here, did you?” Keith shook his head. “Allura opened this shop up after she graduated. It got so much business I decided to help her out!”

Lora looked between the both of them before addressing Keith. “You two know each other?” Keith barely nodded before she started speaking again. “Good! Then you can get us a discount!”

Keith opened his mouth to protest, but Maria and Wendy entered the room with Allura and Shiro, coming out from the back door.

“Keith?”

Keith gave a small wave, a little shell-shocked, and Allura flounced over in her long, flowing white skirt, gathering him up in a hug with surprising strength. Keith tried not to get saliva on her pink blouse, as she had caught him with his mouth still wide open.

“It’s wonderful to see you again! How has your summer been?” She pulled back, still grasping him by the shoulders, a smile brightening her face as she awaited his response.

Keith really didn’t know how to respond, so he nodded before realizing he probably needed a proper answer. “Good. It’s been good.” He had known his social skills needed some work, but these past few days only made that more evident than ever.

Shiro laughed as he too walked over, clapping Keith on the back. “I take it you need a suit?” He asked while waggling a brow, and Keith shoved him in the shoulder. Shiro laughed some more.

“Come, why don’t we all head to the back? We’ll make sure you find something you adore.” Allura said, turning all business as she ushered them around the front desk—Coran waved in greeting again as they passed—and through a nondescript door on the far side of the door.

The other side was a large room with several dressing rooms, a small walkway with a large mirror before it, and dozens of wedding dresses. Keith hadn’t realized there could be so many different kinds. Shiro opened a closet hidden in a corner to reveal some suits, shuffling through some before pulling one out and stuffing it into Keith’s arms.

“Go change into that. It should fit.” Keith grimaced as he looked at the monkey suit. Dressing up wasn’t really his thing.

“Since when did you work in a bridal salon?” He asked in an attempt to not be the only embarrassed one. His attempt did not work.

Shiro smirked, likely knowing what he had been trying to do. “I don’t. Allura said she would pay me if I helped her out.”

The shorter of the two responded with a healthy dose of skepticism. “What kind of pay?”

“…Cooked dinner.” _Spot on._ “Now go change before Allura gets mad at the both of us.”

Keith did as he was told. No one went against Allura.

He stepped out of the dressing room, struggling with the tie and _really, it shouldn’t be this hard_ , face scrunched up as he fumbled with it. After several minutes, Shiro finally took pity on him and helped him out. When the man stepped back, Allura clapped her hands and Lora squealed in delight.

“You look very handsome Keith!”

“I never would’ve guessed you’d make a good businessman.” Keith already knew—despite knowing her for a grand total of 1.5 days—that Lora was not to be encouraged. She was too much like Lance in that respect. (Of course, even without encouragement Lance often continued to be a pain in the ass.)

Allura walked over and practically ripped the black tie off of his neck. “Shiro, go find a red tie. Black ties suit you more than him.”

“Aye, aye, sir.” Shiro teased, already leaving them to find a tie.

Allura whirled around to face Wendy, who had before been content to stand in the background and spectate. The look on the silver-haired woman was positively malicious as she grinned. “Now, on to the main event yes?”

Wendy attempted a nervous, if not somewhat genial smile. “When is the big day?”

“In less than two weeks.” Maria cut in with a huff. Allura’s eyes widened.

“That soon? And you’re getting your dress now?”

Maria’s hands flew up dramatically, an indignant tone coloring her posture. “That is what I said!”

Wendy looked guilty, and Keith felt bad for her. Wedding planning seemed like it was more stressful than it should be. “Well, the dress I had initially chosen was too short when I tried it on last week.”

Allura nodded sympathetically, but wasted no more time in pulling Wendy to her, wrapping tape measures around waists and hips and places Keith’s eyes tried their best to avoid. When she was done, muttering numbers and measurements to herself, she pushed Wendy to stand before the mirror on the walkway before heading to one of the many, many dress racks. She grabbed a dress, rushing back over to Wendy with the gown in her arms.

“I think this one would look marvelous!” Allura held up a backless mermaid dress before Wendy’s figure appraisingly. “It shows off your curves.”

“I think you should go with this one.” Lora pulled out a lacy princess gown from the many racks, holding it up next to Allura’s dress of choice.

Maria frowned. “They are both too revealing.” She stated, and Wendy kept quiet as the other three kept trying to convince the others why their opinion was correct.

Shiro stepped back over to the spectators, standing next to Keith and passing over a strip of expensive cloth. “So what’s your opinion?” He grinned down at the younger man, who was holding a suit now matched with a red tie. Keith just shrugged. Shiro laughed at his response. They continued to watch the women argued, until at last Maria threw up her hands in frustration.

“¡Basta ya!” She cried out. “I will not be a part of this chaos anymore!” She stomped away to join Keith and Shiro, who had sat down on some chairs set off to the side.

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Sanchez.” Shiro gave a sheepish smile for good measure. “Allura can be a little opinionated at times.”

Maria smiled back at him brightly. “Not at all. I am sorry for my daughter. She is stubborn and loud. Not lady-like at all.” The two of them laughed, and Keith was almost worried at how well they seemed to get along. On the other hand, he was worried about the dresses in the face of the argument before them. Allura had met her match.

“Shiro!” Coran’s frantic voice called out from the front of the shop, interrupting the bonding moment. “Could I get some help out here?” He sounded just a touch panicked.

Shiro sighed, reluctantly standing. “That’s my cue to get back to work.” He was the picture of politeness, smiling genially and shaking Maria’s hand. “It was nice to meet you, Mrs. Sanchez.” He turned to Keith with a slightly softer look. “And it was nice to see you again Keith. We’ll see each other at the wedding, right?”

“Yeah,” Keith said, not quite getting the chance to say more as Coran’s voice cried out once more from the front. Shiro waved as he jogged out to help.

Keith sighed and sank back into his plush chair. He wanted to go home, but he didn’t want to sound rude. And it was nice to talk to Shiro.

“Did you sleep well, Keith?” Maria turned to him, and at first Keith thought it was a somewhat awkward attempt at conversation, but looking up into her warm brown eyes, he found her question to be out of genuine concern. She truly wanted to know if he had slept well, and Keith wasn’t sure how to respond.

He swallowed the lump in his throat and nodded. “Uh, yes, I did. Thank you for letting me stay the night.” Maria’s face lit up, and from this close, he could see the dimples in her cheeks.

“You’re very welcome! I’m glad to hear it.”

They both returned to silence for a while longer, watching Lora and Allura continue debating over dresses, only occasionally asking Wendy for her opinion. They had long since abandoned their first choices, it seemed, and were now talking about the pros and cons of the dress Wendy had tried on.

There was no denying that she looked beautiful in it. It was a strapless A-line gown with a lot of lace, though not as much as the princess gown, and it was flattering, though not nearly as revealing as the mermaid dress. She looked embarrassed, her cheeks rosy as she stood there, silently listening to the other two. It was at times like this, when he was staring at a pretty girl—ignoring the fact that she was betrothed already—that Keith was reminded he was gay.

It had never been a big deal for him. He had no family’s opinions to be worried about and all his friends already knew and were completely fine with it. (Considering how Hunk was pansexual and Pidge was asexual, he’d be more surprised if they weren’t.) Before he’d moved he’d had other friends; gay friends, straight friends, boyfriends… There had never before been a problem.

But sitting there, looking at Wendy, Keith felt… nervous. What if the Sanchez family was homophobic? Lance wasn’t, Keith knew as much, but he didn’t know about the rest of the family. He wiped his sweaty palms onto his jeans. There shouldn’t be a problem, really. He was just their neighbor. It wasn’t like he _had_ to live with them or anything.

No, Keith knew why he was nervous. The thought passed through his head almost casually, and his breathing stopped for a few seconds. He wanted to invite the Sanchez family to his wedding. He wanted a family he could call his, rows of pews he could fill up on that day, to look back and see his family and the family he was going to have. He wanted their approval, their acceptance, and Keith wondered when exactly this family had become so important to him over a year’s worth of dinners.

Keith was broken out of the spiral of thoughts as Lora bent over, bringing her mischievous grin uncomfortably close to his face. “You look a little out of it there, Keith. Thinking about your bride-to-be?” She asked, and Keith spluttered at the thought, because in a way that had been exactly what he was thinking. Lora laughed at his expression. “Don’t worry. When you get married you’ll be like Luis; babysitting, lazing around, and waiting for the wedding.” Keith smiled despite the warmth in his face; Lora had a way of cheering people up, an ease around others that she shared with Lance.

Lora sat down on Keith’s other side, where Shiro had been previously. “I thought you were helping pick out the dress?” Keith asked, glancing briefly between Lora and Allura and Wendy, the latter of which had just put on another dress.

Lora shrugged. “Wendy kicked me out. She said she would choose her dress herself.” Despite her words, she seemed just as happy as if she were the one getting the dress.

Keith just hummed quietly in response and returned to watching the procedure.

There wasn’t silence for long as Maria spoke up. “Rafael told me you know.” Keith turned to her, but she remained staring resolutely ahead. “About Lance.”

Keith decided to follow her example, looking away. “…Yeah.” He couldn’t help looking out of the corner of his eye, watching as Maria smiled sadly.

“Since he was six, he would shy away when someone tried to touch him. At first, I just thought he was shy.” Maria paused, taking a deep, shaky breath and wringing her hands, as if thinking of it physically pained her.

Lora spoke up, reaching across Keith to give her mother a comforting squeeze on the shoulder. “We figured it out when Rafael hugged him on Christmas. Lance hit him, but he was the one that was crying and we couldn’t figure out why. We took him to the doctor and, well…” She shrugged, as if at a loss for words.

Maria suddenly shifted in her seat, grasping Keith’s hands in her own. “Keith,” she said, pleading, and Keith’s eyes were caught in hers. “Please, do not think of mi hijo any differently than you always have. He is the same person he has always been, and Dios knows he has been through so much. Please, Keith, please.” Her brown eyes were wide with the desperation of a mother who didn’t know what else to do. “Be there for him. That is all I ask.” Keith didn’t know what to do. He nodded.

Her rosy face brightened, and her eyes disappeared behind her cheeks as she smiled with a joy as if Keith had just given her the world. Laugh lines and crow’s feet folded up her face as she grabbed Keith’s face, peppering kisses all over while whispering, “Gracias,” over and over again. Keith didn’t know how to respond, but her hands felt warm on the sides of his face and her laugh was infectious and, to his own surprise, he liked the way she gave out her affection.

When she pulled back at last, at the insistence of her eldest daughter, Keith didn’t bother trying to hide the flush on his face or the growing smile stretching his lips. Maria saw his expression, and laughed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No, The Witch’s Time and The Lover in the Window are not real books. I mean, they probably are somewhere in the world, but not in this context.  
> I’m also not fluent in Spanish in the slightest, so if I have a translation error, feel free to correct me so I can fix it.
> 
> Fun fact: The series Daniel reads is called The Mountain Spirits. The books so far are The Valley’s Weeping, The Witch’s Time, The Lover in the Window, The Silence of the Soul, and The Name of the Ships. And the series is still going. (Maybe someday I'll write the series?)

**Author's Note:**

> Haptophobia has a lot of other names, but it's a phobia that involves the fear of touching or of being touched.
> 
> Here's the family to help you out:
> 
> Maria Sanchez – Lance's mother; 53  
> Daniel Sanchez – Lance's father; 52  
> Luis Sanchez – Lance's older brother; twin; 23  
> Lora Rodriguez nee Sanchez – Lance's older sister; twin; 23  
> Lance Sanchez – 17  
> Rafael Sanchez – Lance's younger brother; 15  
> Heidi Sanchez – Lance's younger sister; 9½  
> Emilie Harper-Sanchez – Lance's younger sister; 8  
> Alexis Sanchez – Lance's younger brother; 5
> 
> Wendy Flores – Luis’ fiancé; 22  
> Julio Steven “Steve” Rodriguez – Lora’s husband; 24  
> Katerine “Kate” Rodriguez – Lora’s daughter; about 1
> 
> Keith Gyeong - 17
> 
> Blue – Lance’s beagle; 13  
> Raggedy-Anne – the Sanchez parakeet  
> Empress Hello Kitty – the Sanchez cat; Turkish Van
> 
> Red – Keith’s cat; Tabby  
> Maximus Alexander Nicholas Andy Reagan Fightmaster von de la Prickles the Third – AKA Prickles; Keith’s potted cactus


End file.
